SIGNATURE MANAGEMENT TEAM, LLC, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JOHN DOE, Defendant-Appellee., 876 F.3d 831

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-In a copyright infringement case, a presumption existed in favor of unmasking a Doe defendant, an anonymous blogger, after an injunction had been entered ordering the blogger to destroy all copies of the infringing work. In refusing to unmask the blogger, the district court failed to recognize that different considerations applied at the judgment stage and that there was a strong presumption in favor of openness as to court records; [2]-Although speech infringing on a copyright was not entitled to First Amendment protection, the speech occurred in the context of anonymous blogging activities that were entitled to protection, and it was necessary to balance the extent to which unmasking would infringe on the exercise of those rights.